Chapter 166: Who Gave You the Nerve

Li Guifen looked troubled. “Let’s not even talk about that girl’s temper—right now we don’t have a thing to our name. What are we supposed to bring for a marriage proposal? I heard girls in the city all ask for the moon...”

She paused, then added, “You think everyone’s like your sister-in-law, marrying without even a penny of bride price? That’s only because your brother is educated and capable...”

Zhang Xiaobao interrupted her angrily, “Are you saying I’m not as good as my brother?”

Li Guifen hurried to placate him. “That’s not what I meant! I’m just saying, your sister-in-law is already part of our family. Why don’t you just settle for her? Why insist on finding someone else?”

Zhang Xiaobao said, “I don’t care, I’ve set my sights on that girl! If you don’t help me, I’ll just go die!”

With that, he started rolling on the floor, throwing a tantrum.

Li Guifen looked at her son, a man in his twenties acting like a child on the ground, and felt a headache coming on. But she didn’t think there was anything strange about his behavior—she just felt sorry for him and coaxed gently:

“Alright, alright, I promise I’ll help you. Stop making a scene, be careful you don’t get heatstroke!”

Zhang Xiaobao got up from the floor, satisfied.

“Mom, don’t sell yourself short. We own a place in the city now! As for the bride price, that’s easy. Look at my sister-in-law, she’s holed up upstairs all day, never goes out—she must have stockpiled a ton of supplies.”

He lifted his chin proudly. “She’s a Zhang family daughter-in-law. Everything in the Zhang family is mine! Just take her stuff, and we’ll have the bride price!”

Li Guifen still looked troubled. “Supplies aren’t something you can just take if you want to.”

If it were that easy, would she have to throw tantrums in the hallway every day?

When Zhang Xiaobao heard this, he made as if to throw himself on the ground again.

Li Guifen quickly said, “Alright, alright! I’ll figure something out for you. Whatever you want, I’ll find a way!”

Only then did Zhang Xiaobao smile contentedly. “Okay, go make me something to eat! I’m hungry.”

Li Guifen pointed at a box on the coffee table. “There are some biscuits over there.”

Zhang Xiaobao immediately frowned. “Biscuits, biscuits, it’s always biscuits! There’s no nutrition in that stuff. I want something else!”

Li Guifen glanced at his chubby frame and frowned. “My son really does seem to have lost weight lately. Poor thing...”

She walked to the corner where their luggage was piled, sneakily pulled out a big bag, took out a large handful of jerky, thought about it, then put some back, leaving only a small handful, which she brought over as if it were treasure.

“Xiaobao, eat this sparingly.”

Zhang Xiaobao grabbed it all in one go, didn’t even think to leave some for his mother, and stuffed it straight into his mouth.

As he ate, he grumbled, “Hurry up and get all the supplies from my sister-in-law.”

Li Guifen nodded as she tore open a packet of biscuits, chewing a piece thirty or forty times before finally swallowing it.

Zhang Xiaobao, munching on jerky, reached out his hand. “Give me some biscuits too. Just meat is too greasy.”

Li Guifen quickly handed over the rest of the biscuits.

Zhang Xiaobao wolfed down the food, and soon he was full. Then he frowned and asked, “Why are you still here?”

Li Guifen was taken aback. “Huh?”

Zhang Xiaobao said impatiently, “Aren’t you going to find Chu Peipei?!”

“Oh.” Li Guifen glanced at the empty wrappers, rubbed her stomach, said nothing more, and went out.

She’d gotten a lot of bruises when she tumbled down the stairs earlier, and now her whole body ached. It took all her strength to climb back up.

She sat on the floor of the 14th floor for a long while before finally standing up and knocking on the door.

“Daughter-in-law, open up!”

“It’s your mother-in-law! Come out!”

Inside, Chu Peipei was feeding her chickens. At first, she didn’t want to respond to the shouting, but worried the noise would disturb An Nan across the hall, she finally came out.

She looked at Li Guifen helplessly and asked, “Mom, what is it now?”

Li Guifen patted her empty stomach. “My son and I have been starving for days! Let me in, I need to get some more food.”

Chu Peipei blocked her. “I already gave you two boxes of biscuits before. That’s enough for you two to eat for two months.”

Li Guifen said, “Xiaobao is still growing, of course he eats more!”

“Mom, times are different now. Who can still eat their fill these days? Everyone’s splitting one biscuit into two pieces just to get by.”

Li Guifen glared. “Maybe you can eat like that, but Xiaobao can’t! He’s the only son left in the Zhang family, he’s precious! How can he be treated the same as you?”

Chu Peipei’s tone grew impatient. “What’s so precious about him? I’m an only child too, and there are plenty of only children in this building. Most of them are dead by now.”

Li Guifen’s eyes widened in anger. “Where are your manners? Is this how you talk to your mother-in-law?”

She started wailing, “Oh heavens! What kind of daughter-in-law climbs over her mother-in-law’s head like this?”

“What a cursed family! My husband’s dead, my eldest son’s gone, my daughter-in-law couldn’t even save my grandson, and now she won’t even feed us poor orphans and widows!”

She howled until her voice was hoarse, but Chu Peipei remained unmoved.

Li Guifen stopped crying and gritted her teeth. “How can you be so heartless? If Jiadong knew, he’d never forgive you!”

Chu Peipei was unmoved. “Don’t worry, Mom. Jiadong won’t blame me.”

Li Guifen’s eyes widened. “What did you say?”

Chu Peipei said, “I’ve already given you the house, food, and water. If you need anything else, let Zhang Xiaobao find it himself.

All these years you never treated me well. Even by law, I have no obligation to support you and your son—especially now, when there’s no law at all.

I’ve already done more than enough. If you keep disturbing people and someone kills you, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

With that, she turned to go back inside.

Li Guifen hurried to grab her, and in her agitation, pulled at her own injuries, making them ache even more.

“You can ignore me, but you have to help with Xiaobao’s marriage! He’s taken a liking to your neighbor across the hall—you have to help us propose!”

“What did you say?!” Chu Peipei’s voice rose sharply.

She turned, her expression colder than ever. “Who gave you the nerve to even think about Nannan?”"